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Hoffman’s reversal helps Bison beat Pitt

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Bucknell’s Garrett Hoffman raises his arms after defeating Pitt’s Kellan Stout to secure the Bison’s win over the Panthers on Sunday afternoon Sojka Pavilion.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Bucknell's Christian Bassolino returns Pitt's Taleb Rahmani to the mat during their 157-pound bout Sunday at Sojka Pavilion. MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Pitt's Ryan Solomon turns Bucknell's Nate Feyrer for back points during Sunday's match at Sojka Pavilion. Solomon, a Milton graduate, won by fall. MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Bucknell's Garrett Hoffman raises his arms after defeating Pitt's Kellan Stout to secure the Bison's win over the Panthers on Sunday afternoon Sojka Pavilion.

LEWISBURG — There was nobody in Sojka Pavilion happier to see Pittsburgh’s Kellan Stout prepare to ride Bucknell’s Garrett Hoffman than Bison head coach Dan Wirnsberger. Holding a two-point lead as the third period started, Wirnsberger expected Panthers coaches to tell Stout to let Hoffman up and work on his feet.

Instead, Stout set up to start the period on top. Hoffman made him pay, hitting a beautiful switch in just two seconds to tie the bout then riding out Stout for a victory which sealed Bucknell’s 20-16 win over Pitt on Sunday afternoon. Hoffman’s victory at 197 pounds was the fourth victory for the Bison by three points or fewer. And it was exactly the kind of effort Hoffman gave in the third period which permeated through the entire team and helped them turn an early seven-point deficit into its first win of the year.

Hoffman was one of three District 4 alums to pick up a win Sunday. Troy’s Nick Stephani earned a crucial 8-5 win at 174 pounds for Bucknell, and Milton graduate Ryan Solomon picked up a fall for the Panthers in the final bout of the day.

“I challenged the guys over a week ago. I wasn’t sure whether to do it or not because you never know how they’ll react,” Wirnsberger said. “But I said if there’s ever a sense of urgency in our program, there has to be a sense of urgency in how we prepare for Pitt. We’re oh and four, regardless of the level of competition we’ve wrestled, and it’d be nice to get a win under our belt before we go into break here and prepare for the second half of the year.”

It’s been a brutal first two months of the season for the Bison. They’ve lost to top-ranked Penn State, fifth-ranked Lehigh, 25th-ranked Edinboro and a CSU Bakersfield team which has three losses by three points or fewer to nationally-ranked teams. But as Wirnsberger sat back and analyzed those tight results from Sunday’s dual with Pitt, he pointed to the level of the Bison’s competition as being the reason his wrestlers were able to pull out some clutch victories.

Bucknell had three wrestlers who entered with a losing record pull out a win Sunday. It also helped that NCAA qualifier Tyler Smith returned to the lineup for the first time in a month to knock off nationally-ranked Nick Zanetta.

Wirnsberger couldn’t help but look at those late third-period wins and see his guys were able to come up with points when they needed them because they’ve been in tight spots like that before. Smith came up with a takedown with a little over a minute to go to stretch his lead before winning 5-2. Seth Hogue put on a takedown clinic in the third period to earn a major decision at 149 pounds. Stephani added a takedown with a second to go to put the cap on an 8-5 win at 174, and Drew Phipps rode Gregg Harvey long enough in the third period to earn the riding time point which gave him a 5-4 win.

“We’ve talked for the last eight to 10 days about just giving as much effort as you can in preparing. That will automatically carry out into the competition arena,” Wirnsberger said. “And it’s good to see them do that because we can build off that. We can build off those other matches guys lost, but we can really build off of this where guys are finding a way to win late.”

And then there was Hoffman. He was the wrestler Wirnsberger was certain could win if he could just find a way to erase the 4-2 deficit he faced to start the third period. He could see Stout beginning to wear down, and if Hoffman could find a way on top, Wirnsberger was confident Hoffman could ride out Stout to get the riding time point and win the bout, securing the win before Solomon stepped on the mat.

It’s why Wirnsberger was so happy to hear Pitt coach Keith Gavin tell Stout to watch out for the switch, but not keep Stout from trying to ride Hoffman. Over his career both in high school and college, Hoffman has hit the switch from the bottom with more reliability than Old Faithful. It’s exactly what Hoffman did to start the third period, sitting out quickly and spinning behind Stout for the reversal to tie the bout at 4-4.

From there, Hoffman went to his trusty head lever, breaking down Stout and keeping him flat on the mat. Stout was never even close to escaping and gave up a stalling point to put even more of an emphasis on Hoffman’s 6-4 win.

“Garrett wasn’t feeling his best, but he’s one of the grittiest guys I’ve been around,” Wirnsberger said. “He’s gritty and tough and determined. When you put him in a competition setting, I know no matter how he feels, he’s going to give you everything he has, and that’s all we ask.”

Bucknell 20, Pitt 16

125: L.J. Bentley, P, dec. Jake Campbell, 3-1. 133: Dom Forys, P, maj. dec. Joey Gould, 14-3. 141: No. 14 Tyler Smith, B, dec. No. 16 Nick Zanetta, 5-2. 149: Seth Hogue, B, maj. dec. Alex Murray, 13-5. 157: No. 20 Talen Rahmani, P, dec. Christian Bassolino, 7-2. 165: D.J. Hollingshead, B, maj. dec. Curtis Decker, 13-2. 174: Nick Stephani, B, dec. Austin Bell, 8-5. 184: Drew Phipps, B, dec. Gregg Harvey, 5-4. 197: Garrett Hoffman, B, dec. Kellan Stout, 6-4. 285: Ryan Solomon, P, pinned Nate Feyrer, 1:46.

Takedowns: Bucknell 15, Pittsburgh 11.

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